Boeing admits to having committed criminal fraud in two fatal air accidents in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing has pleaded guilty to fraud in the investigation into the fatal 737 MAX crash in the United States and faces a criminal fine of up to $487.2 million (approximately RMB 3.542 billion).
Boeing pleads guilty or is fined over 3.5 billion yuan
According to Bloomberg, the US government stated in a court document submitted on Sunday that Boeing has admitted to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge. According to an agreement reached with US prosecutors, Boeing is facing a criminal fine of up to $487.2 million, "the maximum amount allowed by law, but the actual amount will be determined by a judge," according to the US Department of Justice.
The US Department of Justice has requested judges to record the fines previously paid by Boeing in their accounts, which, if approved, would lower the new fines to $243.6 million. As part of the 2021 agreement, Boeing has previously paid a criminal fine of $243.6 million and admitted to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on a fuzzy flight control system related to the crash.
In October 2018 and March 2019, there were air accidents on flights of Lion Air Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines, resulting in a total of 346 deaths on both planes. The crashed planes were all Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger planes.
In January 2021, the US Department of Justice filed a criminal lawsuit against Boeing and reached a three-year suspension of prosecution agreement with it. Boeing agrees to pay fines and compensation exceeding $2.5 billion, and promises to cooperate fully to implement compliance and improvement plans as required. The suspension of prosecution agreement is valid until January 7th of this year. Dramatically, just two days before the expiration of the agreement, a 737 Max 9 experienced a "door stopper (embedded emergency door)" falling off during flight. Although it did not cause any casualties, it exposed Boeing's ongoing quality control issues, leading to the involvement of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration in an investigation. The incident was also listed by the Ministry of Justice as the basis for investigating whether Boeing violated the agreement.
In May of this year, the US Department of Justice ruled that Boeing had violated a settlement agreement related to the fatal plane crash in 2021, and Boeing faced criminal prosecution as a result.
On June 30th, the US Department of Justice filed a plea agreement with Boeing and demanded that the company accept the agreement before July 7th, otherwise it would face charges of conspiracy to defraud the FAA. The fraudulent behavior revolves around Boeing's intentional false statements to the FAA, claiming that the new software saves money by reducing the intensive training of pilots.
It is reported that the US government and Boeing are still finalizing the agreement, and it is expected that the final plea agreement will be submitted to the Texas federal court before July 19th. Admitting guilt may affect Boeing's ability to sign lucrative contracts with government agencies such as the US Department of Defense and NASA.
A Boeing spokesperson stated in a brief statement that the company has reached a principle agreement with the US Department of Justice on settlement terms. As part of the agreement, Boeing has also agreed to spend at least $455 million over the next three years to strengthen its security and compliance programs. The Boeing board of directors will also meet with the relatives of the victims of the 737 MAX crash. The agreement also stipulates an independent inspector who must publicly submit an annual progress report to monitor the company's compliance status.
What does pleading guilty mean for Boeing?
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